8 most common mistakes made when launching a NetSuite website

There is nothing more exciting than launching a new website or refreshing an existing one, but going live without considering these common mistakes can be detrimental to the growth of your business. So here they are, in all their glory!

1. Lack of planning

Project planning and deadlines are crucial to ensure timely delivery, otherwise the whole process can drag on forever and never reach launching phase. The trick is to agree deliverables at specific times and commit to them. Always ensure you have an upfront agreement with pre agreed milestones. Last but not least, make sure you have a project manager as your point of contact, who will work closely with you to manage time and resources effectively.

2. Poor design

A bad design is any design that doesn’t reflect your business or its personality and, most importantly, doesn’t deliver results! This can happen when a designer doesn’t understand your needs. Don’t let your designer start without an approved brief – effective communication is key when it comes to designing your website. Discuss competitor sites with design elements that you like or dislike – this is extremely helpful in getting the design right from beginning.

3. Converting design to HTML is not pixel perfect

Lack of experience with the NetSuite software and content management systems can be hugely detrimental – there are so many ways you can set up a site in NetSuite. That’s why it is critical to choose the right path and work with a developer who has good experience with NetSuite – this ensures that your first NetSuite implementation is 100% pixel perfect according to agreed design concepts.

4. Problems with implementation

An experienced NetSuite developer can implement any design, feel and customisation needed. A standard web developer, however, will struggle and may tell you that the things you ask for are not possible in NetSuite when almost anything is possible! Most importantly, it must be painless for a non-techie to update content. There are many ways you can set up a website in NetSuite so that it is both dynamic and easy to update.

5. Testing

You now have your website set up in NetSuite and it looks great, but is the whole purchasing workflow functioning as you expected? Have you been trained in how to process the orders? Time needs to be dedicated to testing so your site runs as efficiently as possible from the start.

6. Backend set-up not correct

A lot of how your NetSuite website will behave depends on correct backend set-up. Many companies make the assumption that any web design agency can configure their website anyway they want, but not all web design agencies are proficient in backend development so make sure you get references and check case studies.

7. Underestimating data migration

One of the main reasons for delaying a project is underestimating data migration. Working with small businesses, we know how busy things can get, and data is an area where we need the original and correct core data to work with – from you. Migrating data can be more time consuming than you anticipate. Do you have all the up to date product details? Do you have good quality images? At the point of CSV import there are always many failed attempts because data is not in right format or there is missing data.

8. After-launch support and training

Unless you have a dedicated in-house IT person with good HTML skills, you will need at least two months’ support and training after you go live. This two-month period is used to fix any bugs, resolve any issues and provide training so that you are comfortable updating future content.

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